Shooting USA TV — GAP Grind PRS and Zombies in the Heartland

Shooting USA will broadcast a great episode today, February 27, 2019. There are three segments worth watching. First the TV show spotlights the popular GAP Grind, a Pro-Am PRS event at the K&M Precision complex in Tennessee. Then this episode covers Hornady’s Zombies in the Heartland multi-gun match. This popular event, hosted in Nebraska every year, is one of the biggest three-gun shoots in the nation. Finally there is a historical feature on the 7-barrel Nock Volley gun from the late 1700s.

PART ONE: GAP Grind Feature on Shooting USA

Lots of Action, with 20+ Stages
The GAP Grind is a notoriously challenging, “high tempo” match with minimal down-time between stages. Over the course of 20+ stages, competitors will fire 200+ shots at a variety of steel, paper, moving, and reactive targets out to 1,200 yards. Targets vary in size/difficulty based on the shooter’s position, distance, and time allotted. Most stages include “stressors” — i.e. time limits or required movement(s).

The GAP Grind is held at the impressive K&M Shooting Complex:

Lots of Action, with 20+ Stages
The GAP Grind is a notoriously challenging, “high tempo” match with minimal down-time between stages. Over the course of 20+ stages, competitors will fire 200+ shots at a variety of steel, paper, moving, and reactive targets out to 1,200 yards. Targets vary in size/difficulty based on the shooter’s position, distance, and time allotted. Most stages include “stressors” — i.e. time limits or required movement(s).

Josh Temnnen Facebook photo.

GAP Grind Hardware
You’ll find the latest and greatest PRS hardware at the GAP grind. Notable this year was the fact that many top competitors “stepped down” from the 6.5/6mm Creedmoor to the smaller, more efficient 6mm Dasher (and other 6BR Improved) cartridges. The Dasher offers excellent accuracy with less recoil than the 6.5 Creedmoor. Also, many top shooters are now running Kahles optics. Photo by Shelley Giddings.

PART TWO: Zombies in the Heartland

Pandemic: Zombies in the Heartland
Every year Hornady hosts the very popular Zombies in the Heartland event. This “Pandemic” 3-Gun fun match, one of the biggest three-gun shoots in the nation, was hosted by Hornady this past summer, June 1-3, 2018 at the Heartland Public Shooting Park in Grand Island, Nebraska. The Pandemic featured a rich prize table worth over $150,000. Prizes include pistols, rifles, shotguns, scopes, AR uppers, gun parts, and gear of all kinds.

The Pandemic is a veritable theme park for shootists, with many fun stages and innovative targets. Many unique, reactive zombie targets have been developed specifically for this match. The use of paper targets has been minimized — so it’s mostly “bang and clang”.

There were ten multi-gun stages this past year. Rifles, pistols and shotguns are used on most stages. There were also fun side-matches. We highly recommend you watch the video below to see highlights from a past Pandemic.

2017 Zombies in the Heartland Highlights Video. Guys, this well-made video is WORTH WATCHING! This video offers Shooter’s POV views of many stages including full auto: